This Is Your Life: Michael Aspel

Michael ASPEL (1933-)

Michael Aspel became the presenter of This Is Your Life in 1988

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Michael Aspel, television presenter, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews on the set of the ITV game show Give Us A Clue at Thames Television's Teddington Studios.

Michael, who was born in London, left school at sixteen, and worked in publishing before his National Service as a rifleman with the King's Royal Rifle Corps. He later had various jobs before becoming a radio actor in Cardiff.

In 1957 he began his career in television - first as an announcer, and from 1960 as a newsreader. From then on he became well known in a variety of television programmes - including Crackerjack, Miss World, Ask Aspel, and as chairman of the popular ITV game show, Give Us A Clue.

"You spoiled a very good mime there!"

programme details...

Edition No: 546
Subject No: 543
Broadcast date: Wed 14 May 1980
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Thu 8 May 1980
Venue: Teddington Studios
Series: 20
Edition: 25
Code name: Detective

on the guest list...

Una Stubbs
Lionel Blair
Gareth Hunt
Janet Street-Porter
Barry Cryer
Jenny Hanley
Bernie Winters
Nyree Dawn Porter
Liz Power - wife
Jane - daughter
Edward - son
Greg - son
Richard - son
Ted - father
Vi - mother
Pat - sister
Dave - brother-in-law
Geoff - brother
Megan - sister-in-law
Marion - sister-in-law
Ernie - uncle
Ethel - aunt
Arthur - uncle
May - aunt
Phoebe - aunt
Albert - uncle
Reg - uncle
Joan - aunt
Joanne - cousin
Dorothy - mother-in-law
John - father-in-law
Andy Anderson
Gladys Adams
John Darran
Ronnie Bronstein
Jacqueline Clark
Don Maclean
Kenny Everett
Reita Faria
Jennifer Hosten
Belinda Green
Helen Morgan
Robin Askwith
Amanda Barrie
Lynda Baron
Joyce Blair
Windsor Davies
Anna Dawson
Graham Dene
Jack Douglas
Fenella Fielding
Derek Griffiths
Liz Fraser
Jill Gascoine
Prunella Gee
Liza Goddard
Linda Hayden
Melvyn Hayes
Sally James
Jimmy Jewell
John Junkin
Jenny Lee Wright
Kenny Lynch
Aimi MacDonald
Alfred Marks
Wendy Richard
Julie Rogers
Alvin Stardust
Ed Stewart
Norman Vaughan
Derek Waring
Richard Baker
Peter Glaze

production team...

Researcher: Cathy Parnall
Writers: Tom Brennand, Roy Bottomley
Directors: Paul Stewart Laing, Terry Yarwood
Producer: Jack Crawshaw

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Michael Aspel

a career review

Presenting Life

celebrating the hosts

New Lease of Life

the programme's relaunch

Behind the Scenes

the programme's best kept secrets

Timeline

the show's fifty year history

Life as seen by Aspel

Press speculation and announcements on new presenter Michael Aspel

How they asked Aspel

TV Times interviews new presenter Michael Aspel

The Great Survivor - Michael Aspel

Birmingham Evening Mail interview with Michael Aspel

Aspel Takes It All In His Stride

Belfast News Letter reports on Michael Aspel's 15 years on This Is Your Life

My Life in Their Hands

The Mirror interviews Michael Aspel

Screenshots of Michael Aspel This Is Your Life

Scriptwriter Roy Bottomley recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, This Is Your Life: The Story of Television's Famous Big Red Book...

And Michael? He would love to knock off a few thousand words before lunch as a best-selling novelist between acting stints, preferably in the role of a rogue English lord, the black sheep of the family, who arrives in the Wild West.

In real life, he did get to act several times, once in a touring version of Noel Coward's Private Lives – in which he met his wife Lizzie.

They had not been married long when Eamonn walked on the set of Michael's popular game show Give Us A Clue – with the Big Red Book.

'Truly a strange and amazing experience,' Michael told me. 'But I'm delighted Eamonn gave me that Life experience, because now I know what might be going through the minds of the people I surprise.'

Series 20 subjects